Cardinal Spellman has played some close games, but lacked that signature win.
Until Monday.
The Pilots stunned Fordham Prep, ranked No. 8 in the CHSAA by The Post, 5-4 on Jay Ruiz’s run-scoring single in the bottom of the seventh.
“It’s a good win for us,” Spellman coach Lou Brescia said. “We’ve been in some close ballgames so this was a nice win. These kids are playing well and this could be a nice confidence boost for them.”
Spellman (4-5) has four sophomores in the starting lineup and three came up huge against Fordham Prep (5-4). Will Hodges allowed just one run in 6 1/3 innings, Dom Luongo went 3-for-3 and Joey Cuomo stole second and scored on Ruiz’s line drive in the seventh.
Bishop Ford 10, Xaverian 4: Nelson Lopez went four innings, allowing one earned run on two hits with four strikeouts, Will Garces went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs and Andrew King went 2-for-3 with a walk and one RBI and Emmanuel Torres was 2-for-4 with two RBIs for Bishop Ford (5-5), which scored all 10 runs in the first four innings. Antonio Nunez was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, two stolen bases and three runs scored for No. 3 Xaverian (9-2).
St. Francis Prep 11, St. Edmund Prep 10 (nine innings): Chris Cannon had a grand slam and six RBIs, Gabe Gonzalez drove in two runs, Arron Acosta had an RBI, Jason Perrone was hit by a pitch in the ninth inning with the bases loaded to score the go-ahead run and made a diving catch in the bottom of the inning. Taso Stathopoulos struck out the final batter for St. Francis Prep (6-5). St. Edmund Prep fell to 2-7.
St. Peter’s 9, Salesian 2: Vinny Crispino and Danny Monzi each drove in two runs, Brian Pasquale was 3-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI, Dom Morano was 2-for-5 with two hits, Joe Flack had a double and went the distance on the mound, allowing two unearned runs on five hits, striking out eight with five walks to lead St. Peter’s (2-7) Monday afternoon at Salesian. The Eagles fell to 2-8.
OTHER SCORES
Archbishop Molloy 8, Holy Cross 2